Sunday, 30 March 2014

01. Know your purpose before you start

When you're thinking about how to design a brochure, start
by asking clients why they think that they need a brochure. Then, they
need to define their objectives. Sometimes they just want one because
their last brochure didn't work. If they've come up with a brief for
you, take a step back from that and look at exactly what it is they're
trying to achieve.

02. Limit your fonts

You don't need many fonts when you're thinking of how to
design a brochure - just a heading, subheading and body copy font. But
we see it all the time in student portfolios - people think they need to
find a headline font nobody has ever used before. Clients will usually
take the lead on fonts as they'll often have a corporate identity in
place.

03. Take stock of your paper stock

Talk about paper stock before you put pen to notepad, let
alone go as far as switching on your computer. If you're working for a
client, ask if it has to be the standard A4. Find out if they've
considered using uncoated paper, for example. there a great post here on making a paper choice.

04. Get your copy right

Great copy is often the most undervalued element in brochure
design. A lot of people don't understand that copy needs to be
considered as part of the overall design concept.
At the early stage of any brochure design project,
experiment with the copy to see if it needs reworking. Headlines aren't
something to just drop in later. Here's a great copy writing guide.

05. Put readers first

When thinking of how to design a brochure, keep the end
purpose in mind. Is this a brochure that's going to be posted out in
response to requests made on a website? Is it a giveaway at an
exhibition, or a leave-behind brochure? When someone opens it, what will
it say to them? Design for that person, not for yourself.

06. Think of simple statements

You want to know how to make a brochure that stands out,
right? Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. If a client has decided
they want lots of cliched images to get a particular point across, it's
probably better to scrap them. The solution might be to use a
typographic cover instead, and make a very literal statement about what
they want to say.

07. Set pen to paper

Break out the layout pads and try drawing and sketching
ideas to start with. We brainstorm everything among everybody - Toast
projects start life on layout pads with pencils and pens. What we don't
do is take a brief, go away for two weeks and then present three
concepts to see which one the client hates the least.

08. Keep what works

Don't try to be wacky or different just for the sake of it
when you're thinking of how to design a brochure that gets noticed. For
example, most designers use the same 10 to 20 fonts across a lot of the
projects they work on. There are sound design reasons why Helvetica is
used a lot, and why Rockwell is a good headline font.

09. Make a good first impression

Brochure designs need to fit in with what the client does as
a business. Charities don't want luxury brochures that'll make people
think they've spent a lot of money on them, whereas a new product might
need a brochure that looks amazing on an exhibition stand beside it.

10. Shoot sharp

To make a product brochure pleasurable to flick through, you
need good photos. If you're using stock imagery - budgets don't always
stretch to a photoshoot - try to find pictures that don't look like
they're stock images. Never cut corners with images.